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So it turns out today is National Donut Day, but you know what I have found? Any day can be a guilt-free “donut day”, when you eat these low carb, baked, chai spice donuts. These coconut flour paleo donuts are loaded with all the right ingredients to help fuel you through the day.

I go through phases where I get obsessed with a recipe for certain food for a bit, and at the moment I am a wee bit obsessed with my savory Paleo crepes! They have a very crepe-like texture even though they are totally grain-free and starch-free! The secret ingredient is the sprouted watermelon seeds I use from the Go Raw company. I link below in the recipe notes on the best deals I have found for purchasing them. I wrote up this big post last year on why I love making pancakes & crepes with these magical little seeds, so if you have any questions about using them, I probably answered them in this post on baking with watermelon seed flour. And please note the sprouted watermelon seeds are what make these crepes so wonderful, as they don’t have that outer fibrous shell.

These low carb crepes seriously remind me so much of the original “gluten-filled” crepes I remember eating as a kid. Yet these are crepes are totally gluten-free, grain-free, and nut-free too! A lot of times we can create a “paleo version” of something, but that doesn’t always mean it tastes good, or has the right texture. But to me, these paleo crepes have the perfect crepe texture, and taste great too. I think of them as a gourmet gift to a grain-free, low carb breakfast.

The other best thing about these crepes these crepes is that they are dairy free AND low carb! So many of the keto recipes I come across these days include dairy. And while I can personally eat goat & sheep cheese (I still can’t eat any cow based dairy), I know a lot of folks can’t tolerate any dairy, and they totally deserve yummy low carb pastries and baked goods too!

This summer berry shortcake crumble could not get any simpler! Just toss together your favorite cookie crumbles, add a layer of ripe summer berries, and top with coconut whip cream. You can use whatever fresh summer fruits you have on hand, like strawberries, raspberries, cherries, peaches, or blackberries. I always keep a stash of frozen cookies and raw chocolates in the freeze (for emergencies, ya know), and I make this dessert recipe often, cuz let’s face it there are lots of times when I am craving a fancy “baked” dessert, but I don’t feel like actually baking anything. I have included options below to make this dessert, vegan, egg-free, paleo, and low carb depending on which cookie crumble recipe you choose.

One of my favorite remedies for a spring cold is a hot mug of wild picked Douglas fir tip tea. You can also pick the spring tips (new growth) off of pine, spruce, and hemlock trees for your tea. I use Doug fir since we have so many Douglas fir trees on our property. We even have one within reach from our back deck, and that is the one I made this tea from when I was recently hit with a nasty little spring cold. I am pretty lucky when it comes to avoiding most cold and flues that are going around, but I was not so lucky this spring!

To make a cup of fir tip tea all you need is a small handful of tips, hot water, and I like to add in a cinnamon stick and a little honey. As both cinnamon and honey are said to be helpful in fighting a cold too. And the honey can help soothe a sore throat, and cinnamon is credited with being an expectorant.

I am sharing some photos one of my most favorite places on earth. I feel so incredibly blessed every time I step foot into this little oasis, that it just happens to be right outside out back door. Our dogs also love to explore our woodsy backyard with me any chance they get. This hidden away natural habitat on the backside of our property has oak, cedar and Douglas fir trees, wild edible greens (including Miners Lettuce as featured in the recipe below), wild strawberries, Indian plums, wild flowers, and is a popular haven for the local wildlife including elk, deer, coyote, bobcat, and a wide variety of birds.

This low carb faux potato salad recipe has always been a hit at my house. I love that it’s packed with veggies, egg-free, and it is so flavorful! This dish makes awesome leftovers to be enjoyed with lunches (huge plus!) and it’s gotten great reviews when I’ve shared it at summer BBQ’s and potlucks. This recipe is super flexible, as it can be made with a wide variety of veggies, though I think you’ll agree a good potato salad always needs chunky potato-like veggies, celery, red onion, and dill pickles.

Even though I don’t have an egg-allergy, I have just always liked vegan egg-free mayos better than the egg versions. There are lots of options for making an egg-free mayonnaise, but I personally like the way sunflower seeds work as a base. The neat thing about sunflower seeds is they contain lecithin which is a natural emulsifier. Mustard also has emulsifying properties, and while eggs yolks also contain lecithin and are the ultimate emulsifier, it’s pretty cool to be able to make mayo without them too! For the most mayo like consistency I recommend using a sunflower seed oil, but if you aren’t a fan of seeds oils, you can use a light oil like avocado oil or olive oil.

And if sunflower seeds aren’t your thing, I know some folks like using cashews to make “mayo”, and lately I keep seeing aquafaba mayo recipes too. And in my cookbook I share a rich macadamia mayo that I also like. The main reason I make this sunflower mayo is because it works so nicely in my low carb “potato” salad recipe. And I also love to use this mayo to make homemade coleslaw. Then I turn whatever is left over into a simple vegan ranch dressing & dip by adding in dill, chives, and dried onion.

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I made these low carb chocolate chip cookies over 18 different ways before finally deciding it was my perfect version of a nut-free, low sugar, chocolate chip cookie. My favorite version uses maple sugar as the sweetener, which can easily be subbed with lakanto or other granulated sweeteners like coconut sugar. You can also use a liquid sweetener like maple syrup or honey. What’s the main difference? I like the firmer texture you get when using a granulated sweetener, compared to the softer texture you get with a liquid sweetener. In the photos the lighter, slightly smaller cookie is the one I made with maple sugar crystals. The slightly larger more golden cookies were made with maple syrup (same result from using honey too) but I much prefer the firmer cookie result from using a granulated sweetener. I also love using goat milk butter, but this recipe worked equally well 100% dairy free with avocado oil, and should also work fabulous with coconut oil, sustainable palm shortening, etc.

When you first go Paleo, SCD, GAPS, Starch-free and/or Low Carb, I think potatoes are one of the first things that you really notice missing from your dinner plate. At least for me I was feeling pretty potato deprived when I first started SCD six years ago, but I gottta say, I have been pretty darn successful at living without them over the years! They don’t even tempt me even more. Now potatoes just look like a tasteless blob of starch compared to all the other flavorful nutrient dense veggies I have learned to replace them with. Meet my new flavorful low carb breakfast hash coming to a plate near you!

This veggie based “Mac & Cheese” is currently my fave low carb, no-starch comfort food recipe. I love how easy it is to make, and I love that when I am devouring all these nutrient dense veggies and gooey goat cheese, I am whisked away to memories of being a kid at Grandma’s enjoying her old school oven baked (gluten-filled) macaroni and cheese. Don’t tell Grandma, but if I were forced to make a choice between which mac & cheese I want nowadays, it’s THIS one, hands down!! But that’s also because eating gluten & grains these days makes my body feel like utter crap, whereas veggies & goat cheese makes me feel amazing!!

I decided it was time to revisit the AIP chocolate chip cookie recipe I posted a couple years ago. For those who don’t eat eggs, nuts, grains, and refined sugars, I think this new version makes a nice little cookie! I use meyer lemon zest and blueberries but feel free to sub in chocolate chips, carob chips, or whatever you please.

For those who like to use low carb granulated sweeteners, I will be honest this recipe seems to work best with a liquid sweetener like maple syrup, as it helps to soften the gelatin in the cookie. But I still enjoy this cookie when baked with a granulated low carb sweetener too! Just know that if you use a granulated sweetener it will be a much more crisp cookie, and more crumbly too, and while my picky palate found the gelatin granules slightly detectable, I still enjoyed the crisper cookie version when made with a granulated sweetener.

Sometimes you have no idea what you are missing until you find it! Let’s just say I have been pretty happy to have discovered the simple process of making crispy tortilla chips out of goat cheese so I could enjoy the heck out of this low carb nachos supreme recipe! I remember seeing folks make cheese chips from cow milk based cheeses when I was on the SCD diet 6 years ago, but since cow based cheeses and I don’t get along I never got to try them. I recently started experimenting with goat and sheep milk cheeses to make these crispy cheesy chips, and I have been thrilled with the results.

Have you been wondering what to do with all of those bright and cheerful dandelions growing in your yard this spring? Why not turn them into these delicious gluten-free, dandelion and lemon paleo cupcakes!! These light and delicious cupcakes remind me a bit of a moist banana bread, but with more of a wild side!

Welcome to March Muffin Madness! This is the gluten-free muffin event “equivalent” of the other March Madness. MMM is hosted by Shirley at Gluten Free Easily and will run through Tuesday April 5. There will be 22 bloggers participating in MMM, so that means 22 delicious gluten-free muffin recipes. Plus there will be daily giveaway prizes and an overall giveaway throughout the event with prizes, including a very special grand prize, awarded at the end. I am thrilled to be sharing this new Chocolate Hemp Protein Muffin Recipe with you!